David Manfredi, Richard Friedman, Steve Wood and Thomas
O’Brien.
It certainly is no secret that now is the time to
build throughout Boston. With construction costs being lower than
in years past, the real estate industry booming, the job market up,
and the economy growing, the platform for developing in Boston has
never seemed more opportunistic. Given the immense demand to buy or
rent real estate for residential, commercial, retail, and other
uses, developers have hit the ground running and across the Hub
today we can see the fruits of their labor due to the countless
cranes and new buildings that are constantly evolving our gorgeous
skyline.
Just a few days ago, a breakfast event was held by
NAIOP, where some of the biggest names in real estate development
were apart of the panel. From Riaz Cassum, to David Manfredi, to
Richard Friedman, Steve Wood, Thomas OBrien and more, the event was
a great success and further reiterated the fact that the future of
Boston is brighter than ever.
Mr. Cassum was quoted as saying, We are seeing an
unprecedented amount of development going on all around in the
city, and many of these projects are very large, complicated
developments that we havent seen in 20, 25 years.
Some of the projects these men are currently involved
in are Mr. Friedmans One Dalton, a $700 Million twin tower
development in the Back Bay under his Carpenter & Co. firm. Next,
Thomas OBrien, the Managing Director of HYM Investment Group is the
redeveloper of the $2.2 Billion Government Center Garage. Steve
Wood is a Senior Partner at Berkshire Property Advisors who are in
the midst of a $600 Million joint venture to build twin apartment
towers in the highly active Seaport District. Finally, David
Manfredi is the Principal of Elkus Manfredi Architects, a business
thoroughly involved in an array of past, present, and future
Boston-based projects.
The overall consensus from the men is that there was a perfect
storm that led to real estate development being so ideal to be
involved in throughout Greater Boston. The Big Digs completion, the
growing population, the Baby Boomers returning to the city, lower
unemployment rate, and surge in foreign capital is causing quite
the impressive multibillion-dollar development situation we are now
blessed to be in.
More Information: Boston Business
Journal